BY THE NUMBERS

• With the series sweep at Chico State, CSUSM catapulted up the NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll to No. 14 on Tuesday.
• CSUSM is off to its best start since moving to NCAA Division II in 2016.
• The Cougars took sole possession of first place in the CCAA standings and have a four-game lead over second-place Chico State. 
• After beginning the season 1-1, the Cougars went on a 13-game win streak (Feb. 5-25), their longest since moving to NCAA Division II. The program's record is 22 consecutive wins set between Feb. 18 - March 21, 2012 when CSUSM competed at the NAIA level.
• The Cougars are currently on an eight-game win streak after recording back-to-back series sweeps over Chico State and Cal State East Bay. 
• Just 20 games into conference, the Cougars have already abolished their conference win record. The previous record was 11 CCAA wins which CSUSM passed with a 4-3 10-inning victory in the Friday nightcap against Cal State East Bay on March 11.
• The Cougars are supporting a .328 batting average, the highest in the CCAA and 26th best in the nation of teams with 20 or more games played. 
• CSUSM's pitching has been outstanding as well with a 2.01 ERA in 205.1 innings, ranking second behind Cal State Monterey Bay (1.81) in the CCAA and ninth in the nation (teams >150 IP). 
• The Cougars have the fifth-best win-loss percentage at .900 with teams playing more than 20 games so far this season. NCAA West Region and future opponent Concordia University Irvine leads the category with a 28-0 record. 
• Savannah Coyle's remains the only pitcher in all of NCAA Division II to record five saves this season. 
• Coyle is on top of the CCAA statistics with a 0.86 ERA and has the third lowest among pitchers with more than 75.0 innings pitched.
• Paige Donnelly leads the CCAA with 12 doubles (No. 11 in D2),  36 RBIs (No. 9 in D2), 1.24 RBIs per game (32nd in D2) and .768 slugging percentage (79th in D2).
• Bianca Gutierrez is the toughest player to strikeout out in the CCAA with just two strikeouts in her 84 at-bats this season.

GATOR BREAKDOWN

• After opening CCAA play with a 3-1 series win at Sonoma State, the Gators split their series with Cal State Monterey Bay and Stanislaus State before being swept by then-No. 11 Chico State.
• Last weekend during the bye week from conference action, SF State swept Academy of Art, 10-2 (6 inn.) and 5-4, a team that has only won two games this season.
• The Gators are tied for sixth in the CCAA standings alongside Cal State Monterey Bay with a 7-9 conference record.
• Since 2015, SF State has only qualified for the CCAA Tournament once back in 2019 when the Gators finished third in the regular season. SF State made its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2006 that season, entering the West Regional as the No. 4 seed. The Gators defeated Western Oregon in their tournament opener before being eliminated with losses to Concordia University Irvine and Western Oregon.
• The Gators are leading the conference in double plays (18) and stolen bases (85).
• SF State ranks last in the CCAA in strikeout-to-walk ratio, accumulating 68 strikeouts while walking 69 batters this season.
• Leading SF State is 2019 finalist for National Player of the Year and NFCA Second Team All-American Brylynn Vallejos, who is on top of the CCAA in batting average (.453), hits (43) and runs per game (1.36).
• CSUSM is 7-13 in the all-time series against SF State and is 1-7 when playing at home.
• The Gators were picked to finish fourth in the 2022 CCAA Preseason Softball Coaches Poll.

Coyle Collects Second CCAA Pitcher of the Week Honor

• Coyle picked up her second CCAA Pitcher of the Week honor after helping the Cougars sweep then-No. 11 Chico State on the road and take over first place in the conference standings.
• Coyle came through both as a starter and in relief for the Cougars, firing 8.2 shutout innings in the process. The freshman from Oceanside opened the series by throwing an 11-strikeout, complete-game shutout. She allowed no walks and just three hits to out-duel the Wildcats' Brooke Larsen.
• In the third game of the series, Coyle entered with one out and the bases loaded in the sixth inning. She got a pop up and a strikeout to work out of the jam before putting up a scoreless seventh to record her NCAA-leading fifth save of the season. 
• Coyle is now 11-1 on the season and leads the CCAA with a 0.86 earned run average and five saves. She is also fourth in strikeouts, second in opposing batting average (.171), and wins (11).